A Pawn's Passage

Since Qi Xuansu had gotten no answers from the Heluo God, he took advantage of Great Sage Gong’s presence to consult him specifically about the matter. After all, this was something left behind by the Longevous, not a gift from the Heluo God, so there was no particular need to keep it secret.

Great Sage Gong carefully examined the Longevity Elixir. As expected of an old Immortal, he was knowledgeable and experienced. His analysis of the alchemical ingredients was roughly the same as the Heluo God’s, and he gave the elixir a very high appraisal.

This Longevity Elixir followed the ancient methods of the outer elixir faction and was categorized as a yin elixir. The moon itself represented supreme yin, so the Yin Moon was all the more yin. Sun Lingxiu had personally stated that he stole a one-meter spirit talisman from the Toad Palace, and it was hardly likely to have been a talisman of supreme yang and unyielding strength. As for the Huangpo Seaweed found at the Eye of the Sea, it was similar in nature to the Emperor Willow, as both subsisted on yin energy.

Furthermore, Sun Lingxiu had used the vast ocean as his furnace and refined the elixir with Gui Water Yin Fire. Water was also yin in nature, so there was not the slightest trace of yang energy throughout the entire refinement process. Yet this was precisely where Sun Lingxiu’s brilliance lay. As the saying went, extreme yin birthed yang. Yin energy of the utmost purity and extremity could instead create the opportunity for yang energy to emerge.

Therefore, consuming this elixir required particular care. Ideally, a pure-yang technique should be used as a catalyst to draw out the yang energy within this yin elixir. If that was still insufficient, other elixirs could be used as supplements. Ultimately, it would still return to the Daoist principles of yin and yang.

As for what exactly this Longevity Elixir could do, its first effect was to prolong one’s lifespan.

Naturally, this was useless to Immortals, since Immortals could already live for 100 years until the impending heavenly tribulation.

However, those capable of becoming Immortals were ultimately a small minority. Most people could never attain immortality. Those who could not become Immortals were not subject to the 100-year limit. As long as their cultivation was sufficiently high and they were skilled at preserving their health, living beyond a hundred years was entirely possible. Although such cases were uncommon, there were precedents.

However, without attaining Immortality, one could neither sever the Three Corpses nor remove the Nine Worms within the body, which were constantly gnawing away at a person’s life force. The higher one’s cultivation, the stronger the Three Corpses became. Unless the connection was completely severed, it was impossible to suppress the Three Corpses simply through higher cultivation. Thus, even a Pseudo-Immortal could not escape death when their lifespan finally ran out.

Human life was itself caught in a dilemma. The rules of the Heavenly Dao gave rise to the Three Corpses. Severing the Three Corpses meant facing the heavenly tribulation and being left with only a 100-year limit. Yet if one did not sever the Three Corpses, they would steadily devour one’s vitality, leaving one with roughly 100 years all the same. Very few people in the mortal world could live beyond a century.

The Longevity Elixir could not grant true immortality, but it could mitigate and suppress the Three Corpse’ erosion of a person’s life force. In essence, the medicinal power of the elixir would feed and numb the Three Corpses, making them dormant and thereby extending the user’s lifespan.

This was of little use to ordinary people because reaching 70 was rare since ancient times. Before the Three Corpses could truly begin taking their toll, ordinary people would already have been worn down by the crushing burdens of life or succumbed to diseases. Even if the Longevity Elixir pacified the Three Corpses, it would not do much. On the contrary, the yin energy within the elixir might even cause the body to remain undecayed after death.

No wonder the First Emperor had also sought the Longevity Elixir. Just because he had no use for it himself did not mean that those close to him had no use for it. All things considered, it was still extremely useful and exceedingly precious.

However, Qi Xuansu only had a handful of people close to him. Madam Qi was 60 years old and was already a Pseudo-Immortal. She still had another 40 years ahead of her, which should be more than enough time for her to become an Immortal, so she had no need for this. Zhang Yuelu and Little Yin needed it even less, as both had the potential to become Immortals.

Little Yin simply never seemed to grow up and might belong to the extremely rare long-living species. Perhaps her lifespan was so long that her development was correspondingly slow. It was entirely possible that even after Qi Xuansu was gone, she would still have centuries ahead of her.

Qi Xuansu also had some friends, but their relationships had not reached that level. Besides, they were all still in the prime of their lives and had no urgent need for longevity.

The Longevity Elixir’s second function was to improve one’s cultivation. Naturally, this was of little use to Immortals, and it was not particularly meaningful for Pseudo-Immortals either. This was because any elixir capable of helping a Pseudo-Immortal become an Immortal would already be equivalent to a Longevity Stone.

This was similarly of little significance to Qi Xuansu, as he was about to become a Pseudo-Immortal himself. He could not simply take the elixir now because he had a Xuan Jade.

Qi Xuansu had already roughly analyzed the situation. Judging from those totems, if he wanted to become an Immortal, he would most likely have to completely fill every level of every totem. Regardless of which Xuan Jades he used before becoming a Pseudo-Immortal or which totems he advanced first, he would ultimately have to make up for every missing portion.

The Xuan Jades used in the early stages could only determine which paths he followed early on. In the end, he would still have to complete them all, as all these paths would ultimately lead to the same destination. Saving one Xuan Jade now would merely mean having to make it up later, so there was little point in doing so.

It was precisely because he had to completely fill the scales of every totem before becoming an Immortal that this path was considered a dead end. Once he became an Immortal, there would be no more totems to fill, which meant there would be no path forward and no indication of what direction he should take next.

His entire being had effectively been locked into the Longevity Stone system. Even cultivating independently produced minimal results, making it extremely difficult to break through those shackles.

If he were a normal natural-born Banished Immortal, there would still be many paths available to him, with the main concern simply being the heavenly tribulation.

However, Qi Xuansu suddenly thought of another possibility. Even if he could not use the Longevity Elixir, Zhang Yuelu could. Zhang Yuelu did not have the Longevity Stone Heart nor any special bloodline. On top of that, she had too many responsibilities and too many distractions. By now, she had clearly fallen behind the other prodigies. Setting aside the unreasonable ones like Qi Xuansu and Li Changge, even Yao Pei had surpassed her.

As such, it would make more sense to give the Longevity Elixir to Zhang Yuelu. The Zhang family’s Five Thunder Celestial Heart Method was a pure-yang technique. Thunder techniques were inherently supreme yang, with unyielding strength, and the Five Thunder Celestial Heart Method ranked foremost among all thunder techniques. It perfectly satisfied the requirements.

Moreover, cultivating thunder techniques came with two problems. First, it could easily make one irritable. Second, it could damage the body. These effects were simply not as pronounced as those caused by cultivating the Taishang Emotionless Sutra. The Longevity Elixir could likewise be used to compensate for these drawbacks.

Improperly cultivating thunder techniques would inevitably damage the liver. Every time one practiced a thunder technique, one’s liver would suffer damage, and with every deeper level of mastery, the damage to the liver would be more severe. When heat accumulated in the liver meridian, it would spread outward to the eyes, causing a white film to form over them. One’s vision would gradually become clouded, eventually resulting in blindness. As such, when the liver qi was disturbed, one would naturally become prone to anger and develop an irritable temper.

The Zhang family had extensive experience cultivating thunder techniques, so they naturally knew how to avoid these two problems and would not go blind. However, before achieving mastery, they would inevitably still suffer some side effects. Once they achieved mastery, the technique would instead benefit the cultivator, allowing them to establish 36 Thunder Gods within the body, similar to the body spirits of a Manly Immortal.

Furthermore, excessive rigidity made one prone to breaking. Women belonged to yin, so cultivating a method of supreme yang would not necessarily harmonize yin and yang. Instead, the two might clash, damaging one’s lifespan. This was why there were very few outstanding women in the Zhang family, with most of its prominent members being men. Zhang Wuhen had followed the Godly Immortal lineage. Zhang Yuelu did not care about this problem because her aptitude gave her a genuine chance of becoming an Immortal. Once she attained immortality, the small amount of lifespan lost beforehand would no longer matter.

According to Great Sage Gong, there might be more to the spirit talisman than meets the eye. It might not merely improve one’s cultivation but could also enhance one’s divine abilities.

Viewed in this light, the Longevity Elixir was exceptionally well suited to Zhang Yuelu.

After taking it, Zhang Yuelu might not be able to advance directly to the Pseudo-Immortal stage, but she would be able to reach the Zaohua stage. Moreover, the yin elixir would harmonize with her supreme-yang cultivation method, which would also benefit her body.

In this way, her cultivation progress would be greatly accelerated, preventing her from falling too far behind. Even if she could not become an Immortal by the age of 40, she would still be a Pseudo-Immortal by then. If she could become an Immortal by 50, she would still have a chance to compete for the Grand Master seat.

The seventh-generation disciples’ circumstances were different. The main reason was that the Three Deputy Grand Masters still stood above them, preventing them from competing even if they wanted to. Therefore, there was no need for them to pursue cultivation too aggressively. Becoming Immortals early would not accomplish much anyway. Some even deliberately suppressed their cultivation and refrained from advancing to the Longevity stage so they could further consolidate their foundations, waiting until the final critical moment before making the breakthrough.

Qi Xuansu had originally been somewhat troubled over what gift he should bring Zhang Yuelu. Now, the perfect gift has presented itself.

Tantai Ying’s intentions of gifting the Longevity Elixir to Zhang Yuelu had been suitable after all.

Qi Xuansu did not hide his intentions from Great Sage Gong either. He briefly explained that he wanted to give the Longevity Elixir to Zhang Yuelu, hoping Great Sage Gong could offer him some guidance.

Though the Heavenly Preceptor could also offer guidance, the problem was that Qi Xuansu had failed to meet him several times. Since Great Sage Gong was right here, Qi Xuansu might as well make use of the opportunity.

Great Sage Gong was also widely experienced and knowledgeable. After hearing only a brief explanation from Qi Xuansu, he already had a general understanding of Zhang Yuelu’s cultivation situation.

He said, “In my view, the benefits this Longevity Elixir can provide to the Five Thunder Celestial Heart Method are secondary. The key lies in the Nought Series of the Cihang Sword Sequence, which carries both the meaning of formlessness and the idea of rebuilding after destruction.

“Generally speaking, the foundation of the Cihang Sword Sequence lies in the union of Buddhism and swordsmanship. The Sword Series and Nought Series concerned swordsmanship, while the Heart Series and Self Series concerned Buddhism. The difference between the swordsmanship of the Sword Series and Nought Series lies in the external and internal.

“The Sword Series is external. It involves controlling hundreds or even thousands of swords, with complex and variable sword techniques. There are also ultimate techniques such as the Guanyin Thousand Swords, Golden Lotus, and Falling Flowers which run throughout all four series.

“The Nought Series is internal. Although the cultivator must voluntarily disperse a portion of their innate qi, a stream of sword qi can then arise naturally within the body, helping them to control swords, nurture qi, clarify the spirit, and strengthen the body. The sword qi circulates through the meridians and acupoints, gradually expanding the meridians, acupoints, and Dantian beyond their previous limits. This is extremely difficult to cultivate. Many disciples of the Cihang lineage remain stuck at the Heart Series for their entire lives. This step is both the entry point to the Nought Series and a test of one’s state of mind.

“This is because the external has always been stronger than the internal, and there is ultimately a limit to how much a person’s Dantians and meridians can withstand. Aside from the Manly Immortal lineage, if cultivators of other lineages do not first disperse their innate qi, the faintest trace of sword qi within the Dantian would be like having tens of thousands of sharp swords coursing through their bodies. They would likely die before mastering the technique. The key to the Nought Series is to transform the innate qi dispersed by the cultivator into a seed and plant it within the middle Dantian, linking what comes before with what comes after. Sword qi will then arise naturally from the body, allowing the cultivator to gradually adapt to it. Once mastered, the sword qi becomes formless and intangible, capable of all sorts of transformations, making it particularly effective at countering techniques such as the Eclipse Method and the Umbra Method.

“When cultivating the Nought Series, there will inevitably be a period of weakness. But with this Longevity Elixir, it would be like watering and fertilizing the seed. You could force the seedling to grow rapidly without killing it, allowing the cultivator to master the Nought Series in a short period of time.

“As for the Self Volume, only an Immortal can truly master it. So there’s no need to think too much about that for now.”